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#40-36 ·
#35-31 · #30-26 · #25-21 · #20-16 · #15-11 · #10-6 · #5-1
Time for the second proper installment of my top 40 albums of 2009, which will take us from #35 through #31...
No matter the results of American Idol, it's clear Adam Lambert is the one contestant that truly made a name for himself and perhaps the only one we'll remember in the years to come. His debut album,
For Your Entertainment (not product placement for the fledgling record store), is about a dozen different things at once, thanks to the hasty production and revolving door of songwriters. You can almost hear Justin Hawkins, Pink, Lady Gaga, and some of these other writers being channeled through Adam Lambert's voice. It's uncanny in some cases. Stunningly, however, that doesn't take away from the quality of the album at all. It's an impressive debut given the short time Adam and crew had to throw it together. The track written by Pink, "Whataya Want From Me," has emerged as the clear standout track for me. By the way, nobody but Adam Lambert would put out such intentionally ridiculous cover art; I love it.
If you haven't yet heard of The Ettes, this indie-ish sorta-garage rock band from Nashville, now is the time to wake up and take notice. While their previous material has had more of a drawn-out retro sound,
Do You Want Power kicks it up a notch or two with a more modern production style and a full array of short, punchy rock tracks. Lead singer and guitarist Lindsay "Coco" Hames lends a unique vocal style to the album that's instantly memorable. The album remains solid from beginning to end; fittingly, the book-end tracks are the ones I keep going back to play the most, from the tight and powerful first track, "Red In Tooth And Claw," to the classical-tinged ballad that ends the album, "Keep Me In Flowers."
More than eight years on the scene and just as relevant as ever, Alicia Keys has proved she can keep putting out albums as good as any in her catalog with her latest,
The Element of Freedom. This kind of feels like 2007 all over again, with another end-of-the-year album release that I haven't had much time to digest at the time of this writing, but even on my first listen, I was instantly drawn in by Alicia's intimate and elegant style, which gradually evolves with each of her albums and reflects her maturity as an artist. The familiar "Love Is My Disease," the powerful and emotional "How It Feels To Fly," and of course the now-legendary "Empire State Of Mind Part II," rank among my favorites on the album.
Your first time listening to music by Natasha Khan, a.k.a. Bat For Lashes, will probably make you think, "OK, this is pretty chill." But upon further listening, you'll start to discover there is a whole world hidden inside her soft melodies and calm, cool beats. Just try to figure this out: Natasha herself describes
Two Suns as "a record of modern-day fables exploring dualities; two lovers, two planets, two sides of a personality." She describes an alter ego she sings through in numerous tracks, Pearl, as "a destructive, self-absorbed, blonde, femme fatale of a persona" who acts as the yang to the yin of Natasha's "more mystical, desert-born spiritual self." While our minds get collectively blown by all the subtext to be found within, all you really need to know is that
Two Suns is a wonderful voyage of dreamy art pop.
We often fall into the pop-friendly habit of referring to females in music as "singers," but make no mistake, Orianthi is an all-out musician and highly skilled guitarist who only recently started moonlighting as a singer. In the last several years, Orianthi has worked with a handful of legendary artists; most impressively, she recently had the honor of being the lead guitarist for Michael Jackson and was scheduled to perform throughout the entire
This Is It concert tour. Orianthi's debut album,
Believe, combines her proven skill set on the guitar with her own songwriting and vocals. Turns out she's a pretty remarkably great singer as well. Her song content is accessible and relatable, from the lead single "According To You" to other favorites of mine like "Bad News" and "Think Like A Man."
Believe is worth owning for those tracks alone, but stick around for the 4-minute solo instrumental "Highly Strung" and you'll be blown away.
Half-way done overall! Six posts down, six more to go. Up next, I'll continue with my top albums #30 to #26...